Carmelita and Knuckles
by Mr. BramStoker
Summary: When the evil Clockwerk steals the Master Emerald and both he and Dr. Eggman plot to wield it to revive the Death Egg, Knuckles and Carmelita Fox team up to stop the villainous duo and save the earth! However, Clockwerk has his own plans…


**Knuckles and Carmelita**

**I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Sly Cooper, though I really, really wish I did! This is a pairing of Knuckles the Echidna and Carmelita Fox as they travel from Paris, Angel Island, Ice Cap Zone, Marble Zone, Starlight Zone before landing at the Death Egg to challenge Dr. Eggman and (you guessed) Clockwerk!**

It was a peaceful, gorgeous day on Angel Island as Knuckles, the island's sole resident and protector of the Master Emerald mediated peacefully before a strange sound echoed through the sky.

"What the heck was that?" Knuckles wondered, having never heard such a noise before the ground started to rumble and shake. And that wasn't the worst part. The Master Emerald was not only in peril, but in the talons of a giant 50-foot mechanical owl figure as Knuckles watched in horror. The creature eyed the echidna with its yellow robotic eye then roared before flying off. "Hey! Get back here, you hunk of lousy junk!" Knuckles hollered, racing after him but to no avail. "Dammit! Guess there's one other person I can turn to about this…"

It was nearing midnight in Paris, France as Carmelita Montoya Fox-Cooper slept in her queen velvet bed. Her husband Sly was in the middle of a mission for Interpol and of course, with Bentley and Murray tagging along. However, the lovely femme fatale didn't expect seeing a red-furred figure tap on the window. She then grunted before opening her eyes and gasping. "Knuckles! What in heaven's name are you doing here?" Carmelita asked as the echidna rolled in.

"I've got a huge problem on my hands." Knuckles explained, out of breath as he ran and flew all the way from Angel Island. "Let me guess… this Eggman character took your emerald again?" Carmelita mused.

"No. It was something bigger than that. It was like some giant metal owl." Knuckles responded. **That** got Carmelita's attention. "Did this owl have large mechanical wings?" she asked. Knuckles nodded. _Clockwerk. What is that devious, lowdown hunk of mechanical garbage plotting __**this**__ time?_ Carmelita thought to herself before getting her police uniform on. "Let's go." she ordered

"Couldn't we, um, do this when it's not so dark out?" Knuckles feebly asked. Carmelita rolled her eyes and said "Knuckles; handling mad scientists is one thing. Taking down a crazed, nearly indestructible metal owl is something else. So quit your whining and let's do this thing!" Carmelita vowed, grabbing the echidna's arm and sped down the streets, dragging him by her left hand.

It was almost morning as the two intrepid adventurers entered the chilly Ice Cap Zone. Knuckles shivered as the cold icy atmosphere hung over his fur like a shadowy fog. Carmelita, however was warm in her parka. Though, naturally, she did hand Knuckles some fitting mittens to prevent him from getting frostbite.

"Is there anywhere in this icy tundra where it's **not** snowing?" Carmelita asked worriedly, as the two traversed down an ice cavern. The caves were rumored to be a nesting burrow for arctic Mobius tarantulas. They were giant, carnivorous beast like arachnids that had a fond appetite for echidnas, hedgehogs… including **foxes**.

"Not really. The desert's not that far. We have to go through here if we're going to make for the oasis before sundown." Knuckles commented before his eyes widened as a horrific thing was looming behind them. "Carmelita! Watch out!" Knuckles warned, the female fox screaming in fear as a tarantula lunged for her.

BAM!

Knuckles easily stunned the beast briefly with his fist. "C'mon!" He ordered, taking Carmelita's hand for safety as they ran for their lives before a loud guttural roar echoed. The tarantula was now even hungrier and was in the mood for blood. Carmelita then saw a large tiger shark swimming underneath the ice floor. Then both her and Knuckles got an idea.

"Hurry! It's coming!" Knuckles reminded, as Carmelita sliced open a crevice of the ice floor with a spare pickaxe. Just when it seemed the beast was about to swallow it's prey, the shark lunged forward and swallowed the bug whole in one bite, making a ferocious chomp as it munched on the beast's legs. Carmelita and Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief

"Oh thank God. Well, things can't get any worse." Knuckles remarked before his eyes widened as the shark stared at the two, like they were about to be the predator's dessert. "Wanna bet?" Carmelita asked sarcastically as they made a run for it again, only **this** time, the shark burst through the floor, causing a reaction with the stalagmites on the icy ceiling. "This place is collapsing! We got to get out of here!" Carmelita shouted, as they dodged a giant boulder.

"Hang on!" Knuckles remarked, as he curled into his ball form. With Carmelita holding on tight, Knuckles sped rapidly through the crumbling cavern before unrolling and soaring high above the icy seas as the cave finally conflagrated, sealing the shark inside and away from the two heroes.

"Huh? You're-you're flying?" Carmelita gasped in amazement, her voice and reaction in awe, as she had never thought it possible for animals to achieve defying the laws of gravity. Fortunately, since this **is** Mobius, such things are indeed possible.

"So tell me Knuckles, what's it like in Angel Island?" Carmelita asked as she warmed the campfire as her and Knuckles sat side by side on the Mobius beach away from the icy tundra. Knuckles exhaled and said "It's like when you're imagining seeing Heaven for the first time. Beautiful nature, majestic blue skies, gorgeous weather, and so many creatures that frolic and roam freely. It's wonderful there. But… there isn't that many humans who get to see the island."

"How come?" Carmelita wondered, as she got closer to him. The echidna responded "the gods of the island forbade people to make contact with the island guardians. Anyone who did would be banished. Many have tried to enter the island and take the emeralds… but they were met with failure and death." Knuckles exhaled and then added, "I just don't understand why the gods of the emeralds are so judgmental of humans. There's good in all of them, well, except for Eggman. But the point is, they're all the same like you and me. This is both **our** land. What's there for the taking is ours to share amongst everyone."

"wow… guess it kinda sucks being all alone on a tropical island, huh?" Carmelita guessed. Knuckles silently nodded. Carmelita caringly rubbed his red fur "well, you're ok with me, buddy. Sometimes, when you want to achieve something, you just got to **fight** for it, be strong, and take risks. You understand what I'm telling you?"

Knuckles then saw his hope reignited. "I do, actually. Thanks." He commented before yawning. "Lets get some shut eye. We'll make for the marble ruins in the morning." Carmelita yawned, as she placed her knapsack on the ground and laid her head down on it, like a pillow. Both heroes drifted off to slumber as the sounds of crickets flourished the night sky.

The next morning, the heroes woke up, had breakfast, which was fried Mobius bacon and crispy lemon juice before setting off for the fabled marble ruins. It's been long since believed to be the temples of long existing Mobian deities that the island people would worship. But the marble temples were destroyed when the volcano off the far east of the Mobius lands erupted, flooding the temple grounds with searing hot lava. It was rumored that deep in the remains of the temple, laid a hidden treasure.

"For an old temple, this doesn't seem very Greek or Roman to me." Carmelita commented, as she noticed the dilapidated statues that once stood high and proudly during Mobius' golden age years. "the Mobius villagers often decide their own religion. It's um, kinda complicated, but I'm sure they've studied Greek and Roman stuff as well." Knuckles replied before placing his hand forward as the two saw that the temple entrance was covered in hot lava.

"Oh boy. There's no way **I'm** going down there." Carmelita shivered nervously, as a small lava pebble nearly scorched her fur. "Don't worry about it. Just stay close to me and whatever you do, do not look back." Knuckles calmly explained, the two making their way safely through the lava river before sensing that the temple wasn't as abandoned as they thought it would be, as the heroes came face to face with large lava bats.

"They don't look very welcoming, either." Carmelita remarked as one spat out a breath of fire at a wall, the two dodging the blast. "Run!" Knuckles hollered, the two running through the raging waves of lava as they dodged the bats that were starving for fresh meat.

"Hurry! I think one of the bats is trying to bite my tail!" Carmelita begged, as one bat eyed her hungrily. Then, Knuckles saw an opening into the wall. Grabbing Carmelita by the hand, and taking the treasure in the other hand, Knuckles flew out through the wall crevice and landed safely on a grassland.

"Oh, thank goodness! I think my heart nearly stopped beating for a few seconds!" Carmelita gasped, her hand on her chest as Knuckles placed a gold and diamond necklace around her neck. She then leaned forward and planted a rewarding kiss on his lips. "That's for saving my life twice."

After exiting the Starlight Zone, Carmelita and Knuckles finally, **finally** approached the dreaded Mobius volcano where the towering Death Egg was placed. Using a rowboat, Carmelita and Knuckles rowed down the waters before they landed on the shore.

"Talk about huge! Just **look** at that thing!" Carmelita gasped, as she was staggered by the enormous width of the Death Egg. Stealthily entering the launching bay through a small hole in the volcano, Carmelita and Knuckles then saw five to nine robotic henchmen patrolling nearby. "They must be Eggman's goons. Let's teach them a lesson." Carmelita hissed, brandishing her shock pistol. Putting her fingers together, Carmelita whistled loudly enough to attract the robots' attention.

"Oh boys! Over here!" Carmelita taunted, luring the robots closer and closer before lunging toward them, blasting them to pieces with her pistol while Knuckles took care of the rest. "Sayonara, suckers!" Carmelita hollered, sending two unfortunate goons plummeting into the lava river.

"Blast it! That cursed echidna Knuckles and his accomplice are attempting to stop the Death Egg from launching! Clockwerk, stop them!" Eggman ordered as he rapidly attempted to launch the ship. "With pleasure" the owl grinned evilly, making his way to the launching dock.

"There it is! Ok, once we get inside, we take the explosives, attach them to the main circuit boards of the ship, then we blow it up." Knuckles explained, Carmelita agreeing. "Going somewhere?" Clockwerk taunted, the owl blocking their way of the Death Egg entrance.

"Clockwerk! Hand over the Master Emerald, now!" Knuckles shouted, raising his fists for action. "Oh you see, Knuckles, I think I'll enjoy using the emerald to upgrade my power! In fact, once I have all the Chaos Emeralds from that moronic oaf Eggman, I'll be INVINCIBLE!" Clockwerk ranted, before Eggman stomped up to him in outrage

"WHAT? Why you, you double-crossing featherbrain! You'll pay dearly for this!" Eggman snarled, infuriated by Clockwerk's betrayal. "Don't you get it, you dolt? You were just a pawn for my own ends; now I have all the Chaos Emeralds and all of Mobius is now **mine!**" Clockwerk snarled, as Carmelita snuck up behind him.

"Wanna bet, circuit breath?" Carmelita taunted, frying Clockwerk's wing with her taser. "GRAAAAAARRGH!" Clockwerk hollered, the blast hurling Eggman into the sandy beach. "You impudent BRAT! I'll kill you!" Clockwerk growled, taking flight as he lunged for Carmelita. Knuckles saw his chance, he curled up, sped forward and with his left fist raised…

"WHAT?" Clockwerk gasped, before gasping as Carmelita held his Hate Chip circuit in her hand dangling over the lava pit. "GIVE THAT BACK, YOU IDIOT!" Clockwerk roared. "Not a chance, pal; you were just a pawn for your own ends." Carmelita ironically repeated, dropping the Hate Chip.

"*NOOOOOOO!*" Clockwerk screamed as his mechanical body began to overload, the power of the emeralds turning against him and blasting through his darkened body before returning to Knuckles and Carmelita. With a loud bloodcurdling scream, Clockwerk began to glow rapidly before finally exploding into desolate energy, gone for good.

"Good riddance! That backstabbing hunk of junk would've destroyed the entire **island** if you two didn't show up!" Eggman heaved in relief as he tended to Knuckles and Carmelita's wounds like his namesake (well, he **is** a medical scientist as well, duh) "I think it's good to say we've seen the last of Clockwerk…" Carmelita thought

"well, looks like the Master Emerald will be going back to Angel Island." Knuckles said, about to head off before remembering the lecture Carmelita told him that night in the desert. He then stood near her and said "from now on, wherever you go… **I** go as well. This is the choice I've made."

Carmelita sobbed tears of happiness as she embraced the echidna, the two going through so many odds, risking their own lives, staying together through thick and thin and most of all… united together. The gods of Angel Island were indeed proud of the noble sacrifice Knuckles made that he would choose love than power. And so, the Angel Island gods granted Knuckles permission to be with Carmelita on Earth for all eternity and that the emeralds are shared amongst them and the good humans of the earth.

However in the stars above…

"I'LL BE BACK! JUST YOU WAIT! MY REVENGE WILL BE UPON YOU ALL!" Clockwerk's spirit threatened angrily as it loomed over the universe.


End file.
